Voice of America:

Afghans Continue Protests Over US Quran Burning

Afghans protested for a fourth day against last month's burning of a Quran in the United States.

Authorities says hundreds of stone-throwing demonstrators scuffled with police in Mehterlam, the provincial capital of the eastern Laghman province. No casualties have so far been reported.

Officials say at least 19 people have died and 100 people have been wounded in Afghanistan since Friday when demonstrations began. In the deadliest incident, seven foreign United Nations staff members were killed in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, when a U.N. compound was attacked by protesters.

The protests follow the March 20 burning of a Quran by the head of a small fundamentalist church in the southern U.S. state of Florida.

The Quran burning initially received little press coverage in Afghanistan. But after Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the act, religious leaders called for justice and thousands took to the streets across Afghanistan in protest.

General David Petraeus, the commander of the U.S.-led international forces has denounced the burning and offered condolences to the families of those killed and wounded. U.S. President Barack Obama has also condemned the burning of the Muslim holy book.

Meanehile, two American soldiers have been killed by a shooter wearing an Afghan border patrol uniform in the north, according to Afghan military officials.

NATO says it is investigating Monday's incident which took place inside a border patrol compound in Faryab province, while American forces were holding talks with a local commander. The coalition says the suspect fled the scene after firing on NATO soldiers.

It is unclear if the shooter was a member of the Afghan security forces who turned on his Western counterparts or an infiltrator. There have been cases of both in Afghanistan.